republican secretary -- republican speaker of the housejohnboehner. ifelt like that all isolated john mccain a lot. but you know, maybe he stands alone in terms of his influence on foreign policy matters. >> i think he does. but there's distance emerging between him and where everyone else is. and partly, we should remember this was very -- this was wielded as a cover in the run-up to the election partly because there was this hope, and you would see it all over conservative blogs, and twitter streams, that this was the thing that was going to turn around the election and the mainstream media, because they wanted to get barack obama elected were ignoring the facts of the matter. after the election, because i think people used it in incredibly cynical fashion, there's a little less energy behind the kind of conspiracy mongering except for john mccain who is just in it until the end. >> but then today, the reason this was an important question today, today the talking points that were given to u.n. ambassador susan rice after the benghazi attack, those talking points were published. >> yes

a split and one of the interesting ways you can follow it has to do with what --johnboehnerversuspaul ryan. boehner is pushing for conference shame, republican congresswoman rogers while ryan is pushing tom price who used to run the conservative caucus in the house. if most of the caucus is getting behind them then it's a sign they'll dig in their heels. if they're going with boehner, it's a sign they'll deal. >> i want to bring in a democrat on both the armed services committee and select committee on intelligence and the fiscal cliff if i might. do you think the republicans will come to play? >> i believe that they will. it's my hope that everyone has gotten the message loud and clear that the american people expect us to compromise, democrats and republicans coming together to solve the fiscal cliff issue but in a balanced way and that is certainly what president obama has campaigned on protecting a strong middle class, allowing the tax cuts to expire above $250,000, but we can't be afraid to compromise but we can do that without compromising our principles. >> is part of this deal

to avoid tax hikes and spending cuts.johnboehnerisasking to outline a plan and get fellow republicans on board. ryan will likely be under the most pressure to back away from his conservative politics. his run for vp no doubt brought him some new-found respect and political clout amongst his colleagues. they say they will confident they will be able to reach some sort of a deal by the engineer of the deal, they need to be at an impasse when it comes to taxes. they said any deal to reduce the deficit should come through pro-gross reforms. that means things like lowers rates, and closing loopholes. >> just to close loopholes is far too little money, and they have said they weren't it to be revenue neutral. the president has been very clear, that the higher-income people have to pay their fair share. >> that means no deal from the democrats if republicans will not agree to raise taxes on the wealthy, but pelosi says she is optimistic. more john coming up after the break. stay with us. ♪ created ad message for little caesars who proudly salutes unites

to be here. thank you so much. >> thanks so much. >>> a fiscal cliff, it's coming and if obamaandboehnerdon'tcompromise, could mean economic disaster, but some lawmakers say hey, there's no rush. actually, we should go over that fiscal cliff. i have a cold, and i took nyquil, but i'm still stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels speeds relief to your worst cold symptoms plus has a decongestant for your stuffy nose. thanks. that's the cold truth! time for citi price rewind. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you really don't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and if it finds one, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card and register your purchase online. have a super sparkly day! ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage. citi price rewind. buy now. save later. >>> people are counting down the days until the nation goes off the so-called fiscal cliff. the tax cuts and cu

is listening to their suggestions. up to this point house speaker johnboehnerissaying he will not accept any increases on tax rates. but some top republicans are quietly coming around. it is obvious after the election that republicans do not hold the mandate on taxes. while the g.o.p. still might not agree to a tax rate on those making more than $250,000 a year, if democrats demand a millionaire tax increase, it will be hard for republicans to say no. climate change actvilles are not feeling too optimistic after the president's news conference yesterday. advocates had been hoping the president would push for a carbon tax as a way to help raise revenue during talks on the fiscal cliff. while the president did say he is a official believe err -- firm believer in climate change and will take up the issue in the future. for now it will take a backseat to the economy. this is also an issue both parties avoided during the presidential campaign and even during energy talks, there was no mention of climate change